Emily
In the late fall of 1856, a young woman from England by the name of Eliza Briggs faced cold, hunger and fatigue as she helped to push and pull a handcart up the Rocky Ridge in central Wyoming. The oldest of seven children, Eliza witnessed the death of her father, a brother and a sister as they made their way towards the gathering place of the saints. Under her cloak, she carried a baby sister, Emma, all the way to Salt Lake City. Eliza Briggs was courageous, full of faith and determined.
Wilhelmina Åkerlind joined the church amid great opposition from friends and family members. Her faith and testimony carried her through very difficult times. While expecting her third child, her husband was called on a mission. When he suggested it may be best for him to remain home and care for the family, this quiet and sweet woman declared that the Lord had called him to serve and therefore would help and sustain her and the family while her husband was gone. His mission was a blessing to many both in his generation and after. Wilhelmina Åkerlind Oscarson was courageous, full of faith and determined.
With the prospect of being stranded in a strange city 800 miles away from her husband and new home, Vera Brown Oscarson had a decision to make. In her own words, “There was a guard and he refused to let us through. I tried to explain we had our tickets and our time was so close he could see we could never make it through the mobs of people. He refused! I took the children back and rearranged us taking Dick’s hand and telling Don, “When that guard is talking to that group of people approaching him, we will start to run and if he blows his whistle or yells, keep running!” It happened. He did yell. He did blow his whistle but we kept running and he did not dare leave his post there being so much confusion everywhere. We found our train track 22 and exactly two minutes after we were in our seats it pulled out.” She moved her family 27 times in 20 years, each time making a strange, new residence to a “home”. On one of these occasions she wrote: “The first night we walked in (had to be after work) with only our suit cases and nothing else but the boys’ cribs. It was pouring rain. Roy built a fire in the fireplace. I had seen a lilac bush covered with blossoms in the yard the day before. I took an umbrella and went out and broke off a big bunch of blossoms. I arranged them in a kettle and sat them on the mantle, turned to my husband and said, ‘Now we are home’.” Vera Brown Oscarson was courageous, full of faith and determined.
Each of our daughters carries the DNA (both physically and spiritually) of these and other great women. Emily has been amazing in her ability to take on formidable challenges. I admire her courage in leaving surroundings more familiar to live in Annapolis with a ferret in order to be close to her midshipman. She is bold and takes initiative to make things happen and get things done. I admire her courage in bringing four wonderful daughters into the world who I am sure will emulate so many of their mother’s wonderful qualities. I admire her courage in moving her family from place to place, each time creating a “home”. I admire the way she stands up for what she believes and for what she thinks is right. Emily is courageous.
One of the most difficult things I have ever done involved issuing a call to Emily and Clark to attend a ward, not their own, where their talents and spirit were needed. They had just moved to a new place in a new home in a ward where they had many friends and playmates for their children. We had sought the Lord’s guidance to know what should be done to strengthen and support the members of the Inwood Ward. The answer had been very clear and yet I realized so well the sacrifice that would be required of this young family. This was a hard assignment and a challenging time, but Emily and her family took it on and made a difference. They answered a call that required every bit as much faith as Grandma Oscarson telling her husband to serve as he had been called, knowing the Lord would provide. Emily is full of faith.
Emily has strong and independent opinions and yet is open and receptive to those of others. She is centered on wanting to do the right thing and make the right decision. She listens, ponders and then makes up her mind. And once that mind is made up, look out! She is determined.
I love Emily for all these qualities of courage, faith and determination. But beyond that, I love her because she is Emily…our sweet, sweet little girl. She is smart, capable, extremely well-organized, considerate, sensitive and lots of fun! What a sense of humor! I love watching her in her role as wife and mother, but will always see her in her role as “Lila mor” / “Little Mother”. Comforting Abby during those school days in New Jersey and having fun with Spencer (while never letting him get away with anything!) So very much packed into that little body. Elders from Tonga cower when challenged to a cinnamon roll eating contest. “I’ll have the ‘Lumberjack’, please!
Today we write of you, Emily and compare you to the great women from whom you are descended. But in the days ahead, your posterity will look to you and find the great example of courage, faith and determination that they will want to emulate. It will be the “Emily” stories of ferrets and moving and C-sections and making order of chaos and being true to one’s ideals and testimony that will earn you a place among those great women whom we now revere.
Thank you for being Emily. Happy Birthday! (Are we having cinnamon rolls?)
